Pasta with Mussels in a Spicy Tomato Sauce
Servings: 6
Calories: 419kcal
Pasta with Mussels in a Spicy Tomato Sauce is a real treat. It comes together pretty quickly, it's super elegant and tastes absolutely amazing. It's a perfect meal for a weeknight dinner or date night in, with a glass of wine.
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Ingredients
Spicy Tomato Sauce
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1/2 Vidalia Onion medium size, chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon Chili Pepper Flakes
- 1 can Yellow Peeled Tomatoes 14 oz
- 2 cans Organic Whole Cherry Tomatoes 14 oz each
- 1 teaspoon Salt or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley chopped
Mussels
- 1/4 Vidalia Onion medium size or medium shallot, chopped
- 1 clove Garlic crushed
- 1/2 cup White Wine
- 2 lb Mussels scrubbed
Pasta
- 3/4 lb Bucatini Pasta
Instructions
Preparing the Mussels:
- Before you start cooking your dish I'd suggest placing the mussels in a bowl with ice water and let them soak for about 20 minutes, before scrubbing them. This will let the sand from the mussels fall to the bottom of the bowl.
- Any of your live mussels that happen to be open and don't close to the touch, should be discarded.
- Right before cooking the mussels, remove them from the water, scrub with a brush and remove any beards.
Making the Spicy Tomato Sauce:
- In a deep pan or a dutch oven, saute chopped onions with olive oil, minced garlic, chili paper flakes, and fresh thyme, for about 5 minutes.
- Add Whole Cherry Tomatoes and Yellow Peeled Tomatoes with their juices to the pan.
- Add a teaspoon of salt and sugar and a little bit of freshly grounded pepper. Cover the pot and let cook for 20- 25 minutes.
Cooking Pasta
- Cook your Bucatini according to instructions. *(see notes below on how to salt your pasta water).
- Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the rest once the pasta is cooked.
Cooking the Mussels:
- In a dutch oven or heavy-duty pot with a cover, combine white wine, chopped onions, crushed garlic, and bring it to boil.
- Add mussels and cover it up. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until all the mussels have opened.
- After the first 2 minutes remove the mussels that opened up and place them in a bowl; cover the pot and let the mussels cook for couple more minutes. Any unopened mussels should be discarded.
- Once all the mussels are in a bowl, let them cool off slightly. Once they're cool enough to handle, remove about 2/3 of the mussels from the shells and leave the rest in the shells.
Assembling the Pasta with Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce
- Check tomato sauce for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed;
- Add the mussels which were removed from shells to the spicy tomato sauce, and gently fold them in.
- Add Bucatini to the pot or bowl, cover with sauce and gently mix together; if the sauce is too thick then add a little bit of your pasta water;
- Transfer the pasta dish to a serving plate or pan (I like using my cast-iron skillet for the rustic effect).
- Add your in-shell mussels on top and sprinkle with some chopped parsley for an outstanding looking dish, and serve.
Notes
You will need to salt your pasta water. Here are my recommendations:
For 4 quarts (16 cups of water) use:
- 1 tablespoon of Table Salt, or
- 1,5 to 2 tablespoons of Kosher Salt
Nutrition
Calories: 419kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 888mg | Potassium: 1045mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 637IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 7mg